That's what the boats are for...

There are a LOT of good people out there looking for work in Michigan and I've been blessed to meet many of them. I've seen every level of motivation, from those who are frozen into doing little for their own job search and waiting for an email or a phone call offer, to those who are out there every week - networking, taking advantage of all available opportunities, offering help before asking for help, and being open to other possibilities with their careers.

It reminds me of a story.

There is a flash flood in a town, and a man is sitting on the roof of his house to escape the rising waters. A boat comes by, and they ask the man to come join them and get out of the water. "No thanks," he says, "God will take care of me." Another day goes by and another rescue boat approaches the man. "No thanks," he says, "God will take care of me." The next day the water overtakes the house and the man drowns. The man is up in heaven and meets God, confused. "God," he says, "why didn't you take care of me?"

To which God replies, "how do you think the boats found you?"

Whether you're religious or not, the moral of the story here is that help is available. You just need to be open to accept it. Sometimes, help finds you when you are helping others. Other times, you might need to be more open to other possibilities (such as networking) to find the help you need.

I hope that for all the good people out there doing there best to look for work, people like Marie McCarthy and or Priscilla Mary Owczarksi, that they will be the "boats" for others during their career search, and that these journeys will lead them to a job they love.

Marie impresses me with her dedication and people skills, and will make someone a phenomenal Administrative Assistant (visit her here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mariemccarthy1). Just one week into her "worker in transition" journey, Marie joined me for an Inforum networking breakfast, where she learned about Motor City Connect, which resulted in an on-the-spot job lead and an interview. Sure beats surfing the job boards! Plus, Marie is adding new skills by joining Toastmasters International.

Priscilla Mary Owczarksi has helped others find jobs while she's looking for a job. For example, she will happily lend a helping hand when she is at the Michigan Works office to others that need help on the computer. Yes, she is searching for a job of her own, but during the process she is demonstrating her passion and experience working in HR (visit her here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/priscillamaryowczarski).

Keep your eyes open for those boats, and also consider extending your "boat" to a Michigan worker-in-transition. Especially for amazing people like Marie and Priscilla Mary.

Brenda

Thursday. Networking. And a Few Plugs...

At this past Thursday’s Take Charge: Job Search Strategies, I spoke about using LinkedIn.com as a job search and networking tool. At the end of the 30 minute presentation, I took questions out in the hallway from many enthusiastic job seekers.



I met Michael Winokur (visit him here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelwinokur; Michael is looking for a position in Property Management) who connected to me originally through Patrick Distelrath (visit him here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickdistelrath; Patrick is considering starting his own business).

Patrick attended the Job Search Strategies session back in January and has been very assertive and enthusiastic about using LinkedIn and all available resources to help land him his next job. He met Michael at another networking event, and “introduced” me to him through LinkedIn. Michael has since reached out to me to connect with one of my connections for a job. And, he showed up at Thursday’s session and made the effort to meet in person.

You have to believe that with all the good people in Michigan looking for a job, those who are using their professional networks and all available resources have an advantage. I think Patrick and Michael will both find new careers soon. They are positive. They are enthusiastic. They know the value of networking and managing those connections. And they are eager to learn from others during the job search process.

I speak from a position of experience. I was laid off from a former employer several years ago. Lucky for me (odd, right?) that my employer offered career transition services through Drake Beam & Morin (www.dbm.com). By the way, EXCELLENT program there. I learned a lot about myself and the whole job search process. Found out a few things I was doing right, and wrong (better to know…right?). Anyway, my transition lasted about 3 months - and this was when things weren’t nearly as bad with the job market.

By offering help through my network and through the great sessions at Walsh College, I hope that folks like myself can help others with their job search. If we all pitch in and help one person - each day - think about how much better off we would all be. And think about how you can help someone like Patrick or Michael.

Here’s one thing you can do: if you know of someone out of work, tell them about the free job search strategies session at Walsh College. Tell them I’ll be there speaking about using LinkedIn as a job search tool. And ask them what you can do to help.